Portland

Oaks Bottom, a rainbow, and a knitting update

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12/8/2019  Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge

We went for a quick walk around the Oaks Bottom Wildlife Refuge in Portland. The last time here I was in the slow walk mode, recovering from my pituitary surgery. Today we walked briskly along – not too many birds out, but a nice dryish respite from the rainy days behind and ahead. (Hike #56, 3.1 miles, 100 feet)

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Oaks Bottom

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Bald eagle on a perch in the Willamette River.

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Neighborhood

Lots of rain, and a rainbow…I am looking forward to the solstice.

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Knitting

I finished a foxy bib for a baby shower present,

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I put the thumbs on the mitts,

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and have finished the body and icord hem on the Meris cardigan; on to the button bands….

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Hiking to St Helens Lake / A Peek at Beatlemania and Halloween in Portland

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St Helen’s Lake, Sunday, October 27, 2019

We hiked from Johnson Ridge Observatory in Mt St Helens National Volcanic Monument to the St Helens Lake overlook for stunning 360 degree views.  It was cold, but not too windy.

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From the trailhead, Coldwater Peak is the highest point in view. St Helens Lake is tucked behind the ridgeline on the right, behind the arch.

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Frost along the trail,

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and Mt St Helens, herself.

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Nearing our destination, nice view of Mt Adams and Spirit Lake.

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One last ridge to traverse.

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Lunch view and turnaround point – St Helens Lake. Mt Rainier, about 40 miles away, peeking over the ridgeline of the Mt Margaret backcountry.

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Zooming in on Mt Rainier,

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the Goat Rocks,

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Spirit Lake, the silhouette of Mt Hood, and Mt St Helens, with Harry’s Ridge in the foreground.

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One last look at St Helens Lake before heading down.

This entire area is off limits to off trail exploring, so there is no trail to the lakeshore. Before the 1980 eruption, the bare slopes were covered with soil and forest. New plants are growing, but the relic tree stumps and log rafts remain as they were after the blast.

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Closer view of the 39.5 year old log rafts.

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Zooming in on the dome and glacier in Mt St Helen’s crater.

We hiked partway up Harry’s Ridge on the return.

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Another view of Spirit Lake and Mt Adams from Harry’s Ridge.

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And a last look at Mt St Helens in afternoon light.

Some details:

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We met a birder on the return trip who was very excited to have spotted this Northern Pygmy Owl on a fir tree. Nice display of tree stumps and blast-oriented logs in the background.

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Northern pygmy owl.

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A few very late wild strawberry blooms along the trail, nestled into the pumice..

SCREEN SHOT 2019-11-03 AT 11.53.50 AM

(Hike #50, 10 miles, 2300 feet)

Downtown Portland

I met a friend at the Portland Historical Society Museum to see a photo exhibit about the making of flax into linen in the 1930s. It was fascinating, but not photogenic. I popped in to see an exhibit celebrating The Beatles’ 1965 concert in Portland. I was a preteen when the Beatles invaded, but my older sister swept us into fandom with her enthusiasm, and their music is timeless. My own children have had their Beatle years. We visited Abbey Road in London, and then went on the Magical Mystery Tour and to the Beatles Museum in Liverpool during our UK trip in 2011. It was fun to see a little slice of Beatlemania in PDX.

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We had plenty of Beatle magazines and trading cards at my house, but not this game. It’s funny now to think how shockingly long their hair was considered- it looks pretty clean cut by today’s standards.

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It was a gorgeous fall day in downtown Portland.

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Oregon Historical Society Museum

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First Congregational Church

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Central Library

Neighborhood Witches and more:

There are many elaborate halloween decorations in my neighborhood to enjoy while out walking and admiring the beautiful fall colors on the day before Halloween.

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The light was just right to bring out the face on this tree.

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Eagle and salmon carved from a cedar that had to be removed.

 

 

 

Two Columbia Gorge Hikes and more witches in PDX

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Tom McCall Point 10/21/2019

Beautiful fall colors on a trail we usually hike during spring wildflower season.  Hike #48, 4 miles, 1050 feet. A few comparison photos:

We are going to the top of Tom McCall Point:

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October 2019

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May 2017

Looking west toward the Memaloose Hills from the trail:

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October 2019

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April 2016

Looking northeast across the Columbia River to the Lyle Cherry Orchard where we hiked last week:

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October 2019

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April 2019

Oak trees:

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October 2019

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April 2019

And a few lingering  fall wildflowers:

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golden weed

Angel’s Rest 10/24/2019

Another favorite hike with outstanding views! Hike #49, 5 miles, 1500 feet.

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Coopey Falls

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Fall reflections in Coopey Creek

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Angel’s Rest –  our destination.

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Eastward view of the Columbia River; Mt Adams peeking above the Washington Gorge topography.

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Closer view of Mt Adams.

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Western view of the Columbia River.

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Trees in the burn zone – 2017 Gorge Fire.

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Heading down on a beautiful fall day.

Neighborhood walk and more witches!

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First fall for this new black tupelo

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Two wildlife refuges, Indian Heaven, and trying to keep up with fall colors, Sept-Oct 2019

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It has been a busy couple of weeks – a quilt show, a fiber festival, hikes at two wildlife refuges and Indian Heaven Wilderness. Meanwhile, the Mac hard drive is off at the Genius repair shop. I am learning blog work-arounds via iPad.

Friday, September 27 – I attended the Northwest Quilt Expo, admired all the quilts and photographed many. This vintage Tile Friendship Quilt (circa 1900, maker unknown) from the Latimer Quilt Museum, was very interesting. Seemingly random shapes are appliquéd to a plain background, each signed by a different maker in true Friendship Quilt style. It looks very modern, but it is old and entirely hand stitched!

I bought a few fat eighths to add to a batik quilt in my mental UFO list.

Sunday, September 29 -I visited the Oregon Flock and Fiber Festival in Canby, Oregon, just long enough to buy a lighter weight spindle and more fiber to practice drop spinning.

Then we went to the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, our first visit there, and walked around the perimeter. Not many birds have arrived yet, but there are great overlooks and a nice winter trail for future visits. (Hike#44, 3.6 miles)

Great Blue Heron

Hawthorne berries

Looking across the refuge – soon this will be flooded with water and birds.

Great Blue Heron on the return trail.

Saturday, October 5 – We went to the Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge in Washington during their season closing bird fest. We walked the Kiwa Trail and part of the newly opened Carty Lake trail, and also went inside the Chinook Plankhouse to look around. (Hike#45, 3.2 miles)

Turtles

Sand Hill Cranes

Sand Hill Cranes in flight.

Great Horned Owl

Carty Lake

Chinook plank house

Inside the plankhouse.

Chinook Salmon trap

Sunday, October 6 – We joined friends for a hike in Indian Heaven Wilderness – from the East Crater trailhead to Junction and Lemei Lakes. Late fall colors, thawed mushrooms and blueberries, very pretty. (Hike#46, 8.8 miles, 1000 feet)

East Crater beyond one of many small lakes along the trail.

Junction Lake

Lemei Rock

Lemei Lake

Neighborhood walks – Meanwhile, in Northeast Portland, the days grow shorter, the light angles lower, the leaves more colorful.

Katsura trees

Sumac

Neighborhood witches hunting…

More witches…

Ash trees reflected in nearby windows.

Rain chain shadows

Knitting – I am making progress on my Meris cardigan….

Tech problems as the season turns

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September 30, 2019

Our five year old Mac is complaining about the many thousands of photos my husband and I ask it to manipulate. Not being digital natives, and having shared this computer and its predecessors with our three now grown digital natives who downloaded all kinds of unknown items into our shared memory space, we have been told by the very helpful people at tech support that our hard drive hygiene is not good. That is just a long way of saying that I can’t post about some recent adventures until I can free the photos from their well backed up hard drive.

Meanwhile, the sun shifts ever slightly to the south….

Leaves turning orange

Late roses

Yarn bombing in the neighborhood

Future quilt patterns?

Morning light in my kitchen

Katsura turning orange

I got my ring back!

At least three years ago I had my wedding ring cut off because I could no longer remove it, due (I thought) to arthritis in the knuckle or weight gain. I didn’t know that the insidious excess growth hormone of acromegaly had caused my bones to grow. About a year later, the missing wedding ring was one of the keys to diagnosis. Now almost two years since the pituitary surgery and about a year since the medication regime has controlled the growth hormone to ‘normal levels’ for now, we took my ring to a jeweler who put it back together and polished it up, nice and shiny, in a size that fits! It is nice to have it back! Only about 3 months until our 35th anniversary.

Seasonal art…

And because I can’t resist, and it seems seasonal in more ways than one, a screen shot from the artist Shanalee Hampton’s instagram post:

A quiet week with a visit to the frogpond…

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Some rain, helping someone move, house painting, future trip planning, but no actual hiking this week.

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A new home 

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A late birthday present

Reverse knitting during La Vuelta de Espana:

Last year I knit a long loose vest, but it doesn’t fit or hang well, so I decided to ‘frog’ it during La Vuelta de Espana. The Vuelta is the three week bicycle stage race through Spain, one of the three European grand tours. People spin for The Tour de France, and I chose this for my project as we review the coverage of the Vuelta each evening. The mountains of Spain look amazing, and once again, the cyclists are incredible.

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Farewell, Ivy Cardigan

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Unravelling (frogging), and reskeining;

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Drying the skeins after a good soak to remove the kinks;

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Reskeined, ready to knit again.

 

Wildwood Trail and Tour de Fleece

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July 19, 2019  Wildwood Trail

A short hike this week on the Wildwood trail in the Portland Arboretum. We stayed in the shade, though it is not as hot here as other places right now. Hike #32, 2.6 miles, 200 feet.

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fireweed
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Wildwood Trail map

Tour de Fleece

It is Tour de France time, which we love, and I have joined the parallel Tour de Fleece. I took a drop spindling class in the fall of 2017 at my local yarn shop. Shortly thereafter, spinning fell by the wayside as I dealt with my acromegaly diagnosis. For Tour de Fleece 2019 I pulled out my drop spindle and remaining fiber samples. I borrowed the Maggie Casey Getting Started on a Drop Spindle DVD from my library. I have been spinning a bit of fiber each night as we fast forward our way through each day’s stage in France. I love seeing the landscape, mountains, castles of France, and the bike race has been exceptionally unpredictable this year. And I feel like I am getting a new feel for spinning, and would love to take another class.

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I have also been knitting my traveling socks, and have started a shawl that is a gift for someone…

Garden

It is berry time at the farmer’s market,

marionberries
blueberries
raspberries

and we have more blooms in the garden.

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hydrangea
zinnias

Back in Portland, June 5, 2019

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We returned last weekend from two and a half weeks visiting in Connecticut, New York, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Colorado. There were planes, trains, subways, busses, automobiles, a boat, and bicycles; a baby, dogs, cats and the Blue Angels; tornado damage, lakes, rivers, mountains, wildflowers, poison oak, and topiary; a birthday, a graduation, ice cream, the Brooklyn Bridge, and the Appalachian Trail!  I will report on all that later. Meanwhile, back in Oregon, the weeds have grown and new flowers are blooming.

 

beardstongue
maple
blue star creeper
acantha
Canterbury bell
coreopsis
tomato
rose
foxglove

Knitting

I made a bit of progress on my travel socks

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and started a new project at a knit-in at my local yarn shop.

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Weldon Wagon Road, WA

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5/10/2019

We walked Weldon Wagon Trail on a hot day in May. Balsamroot beginning to fade in the heat. I craved the shade, wished for a breeze in the still air, unlike the windblown walk last week at The Dalles Mountain Ranch. Lupine, clarkia, manroot, various parsleys, cutleaf violets, no sasquatch sighting this year. An enjoyable walk with friends. This will likely be my last of the balsamroot hikes this year! (Hike #22, 5.5 miles, 1300 feet).

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Lupine along the trail in the lower woodlands.

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First view of the open flowered slope.

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Our trail ahead across the balsamroot slope,

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and a view of Mt Hood across the valley.

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Friends ahead.

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Balsamroot

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Looking straight up at the steep slope above.

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Turnaround point

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And back the way we came,

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Back into the shade on a hot day.

New or notable flowers:

lupine
starflower
fringe cup
tar weed
clarkia
cutleaf violet

Neighborhood and Garden

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Birthday bouquet

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Our rhododendron in bloom,

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And our native irises.

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Giant camas in a neighborhood garden.

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Local fairy garden.

Knitting

I finished the Frost Slippers. The fit is a bit tight, but they should fit someone! Interesting construction, including stranding, steeking, and seaming, and I used up a lot of the leftover Dr Who Scarf yarn.

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Yarn for travel knitting!

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((This post has the first photos using my new camera (Sony HX90V).)